Homemade Coconut Macaroons Recipe

Unless you're well-versed in the art of pastry, you could be forgiven for thinking that "macaroons" and "macarons" are one and the same. While the two desserts are presently very different, Food Network says both cookies, along with Italy's almond amaretti, would have been identical until ingredient substitutions started happening. Today, macaroons are made with shredded or desiccated coconut, macarons are made with ground almonds, while amaretti cookies continue to be made with almond paste, thus staying true to the original recipe. 

Now that we have that clarification out of the way, you can confidently dive into this homemade coconut macaroon recipe, courtesy of recipe developer Catherine Brookes of Blue Sky Eating. "Macaroons are more dense and generally made with coconut," Brookes explains of these hefty little treats. These cookies not only encompass desiccated (or dried) coconut, but they also have a delicious, subtly sweet dark chocolate drizzle — a true match made in heaven! Keep reading to learn how to make this amazing macaroon recipe.

If you bake often, you may find that gathering the ingredients needed to make these macaroons is a pretty easy task — many of the ingredients are likely sitting right inside of your pantry! Of course, coconut is the star of this show, and for this particular recipe, you'll want to be sure to have some desiccated coconut on hand. Aside from the coconut, you'll need egg whites, granulated sugar, almond extract, vanilla extract, and dark chocolate chips. While this recipe yields a simple, classic macaroon, Brookes notes that you could get creative and "potentially add some spices, small/chopped dried fruits such as raisins, or also chocolate chips."

Because coconut is such a crucial ingredient in this recipe, it's important to clarify exactly which kind of coconut you should seek out. Taste of Home says coconut can be prepared three ways: flaked, shredded, or desiccated. When coconut is flaked, it is shaved and comes in thin, long, and wide pieces. When shredded, coconut has the look of grated cheese. Finally, desiccated coconut — which is used in this recipe — is ground up and has a fine texture that looks almost like fresh snow. If you're only able to find coconut flakes in the store, don't panic. Brookes says that you can break down the flakes in a food processor to get them to a desiccated level.

Once your ingredients are ready to go, you'll want to preheat the oven to 340 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then, add the egg whites, sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract to the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on a high speed until frothy, which should take between two to three minutes. Keep in mind that you don't need to overdo the egg white whipping in this recipe. "The egg white doesn't need to be quite as fluffy as when whipping meringue," Brookes explains. "Just at the point that it's starting to get a little foamy and white, but not holding it's shape."

Once your eggs whites reach the desired consistency, you'll want to fold in the desiccated coconut carefully until all the ingredients are well combined, then leave the mixture to settle for 10 minutes. When the time has passed, using your hands, an ice cream scoop, or a tablespoon measuring cup, take the coconut mixture and squash them into slightly flattened balls in your hands. Brookes says each of her macaroons weighed about 1.7 ounces each, which is about 50 grams. Place the balls on the baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Once done, leave the macaroons to cool completely.

Heat the dark chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second bursts it is a uniform, melted mixture. Then, spoon the melted dark chocolate all over one side of each cooled macaroon and place them into the freezer for 10 minutes, so the chocolate can set. After this time is up, turn the macaroons over and drizzle more dark chocolate over the other side. Place in the freezer for five minutes, then your homemade coconut macaroons are ready to go. These cookies are incredibly simple to make and encompass plenty of sweetness, with slight bitterness from the dark chocolate. You can easily store leftover macaroons in an airtight container, store them at room temperature, and enjoy a sweet treat throughout the whole week!